FEATURE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE


FITS LIKE A GLOVE – STREAMLINED DATA REPORTING UNLOCKS VALUE


The TimeXtender Discovery Hub from Columbus has delivered an advanced analytics solution at Polyco Healthline, which has helped streamline and future-proof reporting


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olyco Healthline is a provider of protection and hygiene products and


services – including over three billion gloves annually – across 38 countries. With a reputation for high quality, compliant products, Polyco Healthline sought to stay agile and competitive by adopting an advanced analytics solution to streamline business operations. Columbus delivered the new analytics


solution based on TimeXtender Discovery Hub, which provides Polyco Healthline with automated data warehousing from multiple sources for rapid reporting. Polyco Healthline boasts over 30,000m2


of warehouse space to support the handling of over 5,000 shipping containers annually, and has developed a reputation for agile distribution, product innovation and excellent customer service. The company serves sectors as wide-ranging as construction, retail and healthcare. With such a critical


role in the global supply chain and large volumes of stock being distributed each day, Polyco Healthline required accurate tracking and recording of business operations – as well as rapid analysis of data for detailed reporting. Its previous reporting process was slow


and siloed due to acquisitions that introduced multiple ERP platforms and a variety of legacy Business Intelligence applications into the Polyco Healthline technology ecosystem. “Agile, detailed Business Intelligence is


absolutely vital in such a competitive industry, particularly with our focus on highly optimised logistics and just-in- time supply,” said Mike Heath, Head of Business Systems at Polyco Healthline. “Our business analysts needed far greater insight into operations, sales volumes,


38 MAY 2019 | PROCESS & CONTROL


budgets, forecasting and procurement.” Polyco Healthline recognised the need to


overhaul its existing analytics solution and improve the end-user experience by transitioning away from legacy systems towards a scalable, agile replacement. Columbus was approached to evaluate


the existing Polyco Healthline technology landscape, evaluate current Business Intelligence and analytics processes and propose a roadmap that would move the company to a streamlined, future-proof reporting solution. Columbus


consultants and technical


experts delivered an initial ‘envisioning’ session to bring together all key


stakeholders from Polyco


Healthline, evaluate the existing analytics


and wider IT systems, and develop a proposed strategy for


transformation. The session highlighted the disparate


nature of existing solutions – with the business operating several instances of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and NAV – and succeeded in identifying bottlenecks in the data manipulation and reporting process. A particular focus was an overhaul of the reporting dashboards used by business analysts, with the goal of removing dependency on legacy platforms to heavily cut refresh times. “Polyco Healthline has grown


significantly over the past few years, and with each acquisition we’ve incorporated more business processes and systems into our technology landscape,” said Heath. “There were simply too many legacy data tools deployed in narrow roles, which we


Said to be the UK’s largest handler of gloves, Polyco Healthline boasts annual deliveries of over three billion gloves to more than a dozen industries spanning construction and healthcare to retail and petrochemicals


Polyco Healthline now enjoys automated data warehousing to support rapid reporting and can handle and unlock value from enterprise data


urgently needed to streamline.” Columbus proposed and implemented a


proof of concept in less than five days to demonstrate project feasibility. TimeXtender Discovery Hub provides automated, comprehensive data warehousing to help streamline data reporting for the end-user. “In some roles, we still used ‘bloated’


Excel spreadsheets and Access databases to store and manipulate data for business-critical operations,” continued Heath. “The transition to TimeXtender Discovery Hub allows us to introduce a degree of automation into the reporting process, ensuring we’re never kept waiting for valuable insights.” Columbus technical experts have trained


Polyco Healthline staff on the intuitive solution within just three days. Solution changes, fixes and training have been proactively delivered on a rolling basis. “Instead of developing new features and


fixes in isolation, we work hand-in-hand with the Polyco Healthline team to ensure we add maximum value,” said Chris Clifford, technical solution architect at Columbus. “This high degree of collaboration has helped us go above and beyond addressing the original customer pain points.” With the new TimeXtender Discovery


Hub, Polyco Healthline now enjoys automated data warehousing to support rapid reporting and can handle and unlock value from enterprise data. The complexity of the reporting process has been reduced by consolidating multiple data sources into a single platform. The original project goal of more agile


reporting dashboards has been comfortably met, with the new solution slashing dashboard refresh times from over a minute to less than ten seconds. Detailed evaluation of the entire Polyco


Healthline technology landscape has identified the potential for further system improvements, such as consolidation of existing ERP systems and a transition to cloud-based Microsoft enterprise solutions. Clifford continued: “...our partnership


doesn’t end at the deployment stage – we collaborate regularly with Polyco Healthline technical staff to identify areas for further improvement and provide training and troubleshooting.” “The ability to make rapid, data-driven


business decisions is invaluable to us,” said Heath. “With more intuitive analytics and reporting, the day-to-day user experience has been greatly enhanced, and we now have a strong platform for future projects to help maintain our competitive advantage in the industry.


Columbus www.columbusglobal.com/en/


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